We aimed to compare angiographic and clinical outcomes after the implantation of everolimus-eluting (EES) and sirolimus-eluting (SES) stents in patients with diabetes.

There are limited data on long-term outcome after EES vs SES implantation in diabetic patients.

We randomized 213 patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease to EES (n?=?108) or SES (n?=?105) implantation. Angiographic follow-up was performed 10 months after the index procedure and all patients were followed clinically for 4 years. The primary endpoint was angiographic in-stent late luminal loss at 10-month follow-up. Secondary endpoints included angiographic restenosis rate, the need for target lesion revascularization (TLR) and major adverse cardiac events (MACE; defined as cardiac death, myocardial infarction, definite stent thrombosis, or TLR) at 4-year follow-up.

At 10-month angiographic follow-up, in-stent late lumen loss was 0.20?±?0.53 mm and 0.11?±?0.49 mm (P?=?0.28), and angiographic restenosis rate was 3.8% and 5.2% (P?=?0.72) in the EES and SES groups, respectively. At 4-year clinical follow-up, MACE had occurred in 22 (20.4%) patients in the EES group and 25 (23.8%) patients in SES group (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.47-1.49; P?=?0.55), with TLR performed in 6 (5.6%) and 10 (9.5%) patients in the two groups (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.21-1-58; P?=?0.28).

EES and SES had comparable 10-month angiographic and 4-year clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease.

The aim of this study is to describe the 21 year trends in myocardial infarction among middle-aged inhabitants in the city of Turku, in southwestern Finland. Since 1972 the coronary register in Turku has monitored acute coronary events leading to hospital admission or death, first according to the methods of the World Health Organization Heart Attack Register Study, and since 1982 according to the methods of the WHO MONICA. From 1972 to 1992 we registered 7374 events of suspected myocardial infarction, of which 6045 events occurring in inhabitants of Turku aged 35-64 years, fulfilled the criteria for myocardial infarction. Within 28 days, 2266 coronary events proved fatal. During the 21-year period, the incidence of definite myocardial infarction fell by 55% in men and by 62% in women, and coronary mortality fell by 66 and 81%, respectively. From 1972 to 1982, total mortality and coronary mortality decreased in parallel. Later on, the decrease in total mortality levelled off, even though coronary mortality fell still steeper, because mortality from external causes of death increased. The favourable long-term trends reflect favourable changes in total cholesterol and blood pressure in the middle-aged population, and the improvement in the treatment of myocardial infarction. Further efforts are needed to enhance this trend, but also to reduce total mortality among middle-aged people.

25 year trends in first time hospitalisation for acute myocardial infarction, subsequent short and long term mortality, and the prognostic impact of sex and comorbidity: a Danish nationwide cohort study.

To examine 25 year trends in first time hospitalisation for acute myocardial infarction in Denmark, subsequent short and long term mortality, and the prognostic impact of sex and comorbidity.

Nationwide population based cohort study using medical registries.

All hospitals in Denmark.

234,331 patients with a first time hospitalisation for myocardial infarction from 1984 through 2008.

Standardised incidence rate of myocardial infarction and 30 day and 31-365 day mortality by sex. Comorbidity categories were defined as normal, moderate, severe, and very severe according to the Charlson comorbidity index, and were compared by means of mortality rate ratios based on Cox regression.

The standardised incidence rate per 100,000 people decreased in the 25 year period by 37% for women (from 209 to 131) and by 48% for men (from 410 to 213). The 30 day, 31-365 day, and one year mortality declined from 31.4%, 15.6%, and 42.1% in 1984-8 to 14.8%, 11.1%, and 24.2% in 2004-8, respectively. After adjustment for age at time of myocardial infarction, men and women had the same one year risk of dying. The mortality reduction was independent of comorbidity category. Comparing patients with very severe versus normal comorbidity during 2004-8, the mortality rate ratio, adjusted for age and sex, was 1.96 (95% CI 1.83 to 2.11) within 30 days and 3.89 (3.58 to 4.24) within 31-365 days.

The rate of first time hospitalisation for myocardial infarction and subsequent short term mortality both declined by nearly half between 1984 and 2008. The reduction in mortality occurred for all patients, independent of sex and comorbidity. However, comorbidity burden was a strong prognostic factor for short and long term mortality, while sex was not.

International research for acute myocardial infarction lacks comparisons of whole health systems. We assessed time trends for care and outcomes in Sweden and the UK.

We used data from national registries on consecutive patients registered between 2004 and 2010 in all hospitals providing care for acute coronary syndrome in Sweden and the UK. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality 30 days after admission. We compared effectiveness of treatment by indirect casemix standardisation. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01359033.

We assessed data for 119,786 patients in Sweden and 391,077 in the UK. 30-day mortality was 7·6% (95% CI 7·4-7·7) in Sweden and 10·5% (10·4-10·6) in the UK. Mortality was higher in the UK in clinically relevant subgroups defined by troponin concentration, ST-segment elevation, age, sex, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus status, and smoking status. In Sweden, compared with the UK, there was earlier and more extensive uptake of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (59% vs 22%) and more frequent use of ß blockers at discharge (89% vs 78%). After casemix standardisation the 30-day mortality ratio for UK versus Sweden was 1·37 (95% CI 1·30-1·45), which corresponds to 11,263 (95% CI 9620-12,827) excess deaths, but did decline over time (from 1·47, 95% CI 1·38-1·58 in 2004 to 1·20, 1·12-1·29 in 2010; p=0·01).

We found clinically important differences between countries in acute myocardial infarction care and outcomes. International comparisons research might help to improve health systems and prevent deaths.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a mobile emergency care unit (MECU) staffed with an anaesthetist, in terms of increased survival among patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI). The setting was an urban area with 330 000 inhabitants. This was a quasi-experimental before-and-after-study including consecutive emergency calls during September to November 1996 (Period 1, without the MECU) and September to November 1997 (Period 2, including the MECU). Fifty-four ambulance patients had their MI diagnosis confirmed at hospital during Period 1, and another 54 in Period 2. The 28-day mortality was collected from relevant registers. Twenty-four (44%) of Period 2 patients were transported by the MECU. MECU patients had lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) than other patients, both before and after hospital admission. Nitroglycerine treatment was relatively frequent in MECU patients, and cardioversion, anaesthesia and intubation was applied exclusively in these patients. After arrival at hospital, MECU patients had thrombolysis relatively often (46% versus 23% in other Period 2 patients) but percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) relatively infrequently (21% vs 30%). The total mortality was significantly lower in Period 2 than in Period 1 patients (11% vs 21%,

The objects of the present study were to perform an epidemiological study of acute myocardial infarction in Stockholm County and to investigate and develop the methods by which the medical information system in Stockholm can be used as an epidemiological tool. The possible sources of error were enumerated and their importance assessed. It is concluded that the available routinely collected computer data are useful for estimation of incidence, mortality, and case fatality. Incidence, and case fatality rates are shown to be similar to results from other Swedish studies.

Mortality rates for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the province of Manitoba were studied by a retrospective, randomized survey of urban and rural hospital records. Urban hospitals had formal coronary care unit (CCU). Selected rural hospitals lacked CCUs but usually possessed portable monitoring and defibrillation equipment. Twenty-seven percent of 852 cases in the study population died. The mortality rate for unequivocal AMI was 14% to 15% to both urban and rural hospitals. Patients with possible AMI had high mortality rates in both facilities (41% to 45%). Subgroup analysis of the definite AMI population failed to reveal statistically significant differences in urban vs rural mortality, although a consistent trend toward superior performance in urban centers was found. The magnitude of the potential of a rural hospital intervention program to reduce the AMI mortality nevertheless appeared to be small.